Though the legislative session didn’t end up the way many would have wished, District 27A Rich Murray said he was pleased Tuesday night to see many areas of reform in the bills that were passed by the House and Senate early today.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bills this morning that ultimately ended the shutdown.

“I was very happy going into the bills to see there was a lot of reform,” Murray said. “The governor worked very closely with the House leadership and committee chairs and implemented a number of reform items.”

Now, ultimately, he said, legislators will have to figure out ways to “smooth out” the cash flow in the state so that there aren’t similar problems with the budget in the future.

While many of the specific budget impacts have yet to be outlined for local officials, Murray said there were some positive decisions that came out of the budget bills that will impact Albert Lea and Austin.

Murray said local governement aid to cities will be coming in at the same as the 2010 levels during the next four years. The same is true for county program aid.

Because of the shifts in state money to the schools, legislators implemented an extra $50 per pupil into the funding formula.

Special education funding will also see a 4.6 percent increase during both of the next two years, he said.

The Albert Lea School District also received an additional $300,000 in the K-12 education bill that was appropriated based on a forum with district leaders in April.

“From being down here and talking with the superintendent and some of the other leadership, they said there’s some real needs there,” Murray said.

In the bonding bill approved by both houses, Albert Lea will receive $1 million to go toward its downtown renovations.

While the Fountain Lake dredging project was not in this year’s bonding bill, Murray said legislators will have to look at this project during next year’s bonding bill.

Money for the Shell Rock River Watershed District’s headwaters project, however, was included as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.

This will include $2.57 million to go toward the acquisition of the land around the Albert Lea Lake dam, for wetland restoration and wildlife habitat improvements.

Under the project, the state will buy the land, which is 257 acres around the dam, from the current landowner, Greg Jensen. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will eventually own and manage the land, according to plans earlier this year.

Watershed officials have said the acquisition of the land is the cornerstone of their efforts to create fish and wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation opportunities for the public.

Murray said there is also an appropriation for parks and trails in the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment for more than $7.5 million for each but he is unsure if any of the allocation is specific to the Blazing Star Trail extension from Albert Lea to Hayward. He said he is unsure if specific project allocations have been decided.

Look to the Tribune for more information about how the state budget bills will affect the Albert Lea area.